Western New England Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WNEB) Short Interest Update

Western New England Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WNEB) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 227,000 shares, an increase of 152.8% from the April 15th total of 89,800 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 46,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Western New England Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of WNEB stock remained flat at $6.50 during trading hours on Friday. 59,557 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 44,886. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Western New England Bancorp has a twelve month low of $5.58 and a twelve month high of $9.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $7.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.83. The company has a market cap of $141.09 million, a PE ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 0.66.

Western New England Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.31%. Western New England Bancorp’s payout ratio is 46.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.50 price objective (down from $9.00) on shares of Western New England Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western New England Bancorp

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Western New England Bancorp by 8.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 70,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 5,250 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in Western New England Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $85,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Western New England Bancorp by 5.9% in the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 397,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,045,000 after acquiring an additional 22,000 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Western New England Bancorp by 19.3% in the first quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 22,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 3,585 shares during the period. Finally, White Pine Capital LLC boosted its stake in Western New England Bancorp by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 101,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $912,000 after acquiring an additional 22,541 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.95% of the company’s stock.

Western New England Bancorp Company Profile

Western New England Bancorp, Inc operates as the holding company for Westfield Bank that provides a range of commercial and retail banking products and services to individuals and businesses. The company accepts various deposit accounts, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing checking, commercial checking, business, nonprofit and municipal checking, savings, money market and sweep, individual retirement, and other savings accounts; time deposits; certificates of deposit; and interest on lawyer's trust accounts.